The concern about safety is understandable, though I have never had a bad experience while hosting or being hosted.

You obviously need to take reasonable precautions when using hospitality exchange networks. Generally, use common sense and follow these tips:

Each user has a detailed profile. You want to read it carefully.

If they leave their profile blank, that’s not a good sign.

Check the references left by other hosts and guests to see if they have positive references and to learn more about them.

You can also chat with your potential host / guest on the site or on Skype or have a look at their Facebook profile (you might find some surprising mutual friends).

The most important thing I want to say about my adventures as a couch-surfer is this: it’s not just about free accommodation.

It’s a priceless opportunity to get to know people at your travel destination, to see what it’s like to live like a local, to see the place from your host’s perspective (including things that tourists don’t normally find out about) and to make long lasting friendships.

Never treat your host as a “free hostel”, because you’ll be missing the point of the CouchSurfing experience.

Housesitting and Petsitting

Staying at people’s flats or houses while they’re away is another way to find free accommodation.

It’s a win-win.

The owners need someone to make sure their home is secure while they’re away on holiday, water the plants or to mind the pets. You get to live in a local home rent-free.

In some of the places I’ve travelled to, I found opportunities to stay at people’s flats while taking care of their cats. This meant I could travel for longer, but again, it’s not just about saving money…

You will get to know different parts of the city or country you’re visiting through housesitting.

Sometimes you’ll find yourself away from the any tourist attractions in a real local environment (which I find fascinating) and sometimes you’ll find yourself living for free in the most trendy part of the city.

How to find house sitting opportunities?

Most homeowners have set dates for their vacation, so to increase the likelihood of finding a house sitting opportunity, you want to plan ahead of time.

Housesitting is generally free. Some owners may charge for utilities during your stay, so this should be clarified in advance.

Also, sites that offer house sitting opportunities charge a subscription fee, but it’s very low compared to the cost of paid accommodation. Usually your subscription will pay for itself after one night of house sitting.

A more informal way to find a place to stay on your trip is to simply socialise with locals.

If you’re open and friendly, there’s a chance they may offer to host you.

Better not use this method on your first day in a new destination, as you never know if you’ll be offered accommodation or not. For the first night you need some sort of backup.

There are many ways to meet locals. I recommend you search meetup.com for local events in your fields of interest, find relevant events on Facebook and browse the events section on CouchSurfing.

I do these searches about a week before I arrive in a new place, and add any interesting events I find directly to my Google Calendar.

In big cities you’re likely to find many international meetups and other events each day of the week.

It might be a language exchange meeting, a cooking class, a guided tour, an arts workshop or just a general social meetup.

Even if there are several potential events on the same date, I add them all to my calendar, so I can choose which one I feel like going to each evening.

If you’re in a big city and don’t feel like spending too much time in public transport, you can simply pick the event that’s closest to the part of the city you might be in on that day.

Attend these events and connect with locals. If you go to events for people who share common interests, this will make things easier.

Always be friendly and polite, try to show that you’re going to be a considerate guest, establish trust.

When the time is right, tell them that you’re travelling on a budget or backpacking. You may meet locals who will invite you to stay with them.

Other times, you’ll meet people who cannot host you, but can help you find a place to stay with one of their friends.

As with hospitality exchange, remember not to treat people as a free hostel. Show your gratitude, and don’t take their hospitality for granted. Invite your hosts to a restaurant, buy them a bottle of wine or some nice chocolates. Who wouldn’t like that?

You can get more personal gifts for your host, depending on how well you get to know your them. For example, if they mention a book they’d like to read or a show they’d like to see, you can express your gratitude by getting them the book or tickets to the show. This advice is also relevant to hospitality exchange of course.

If you’re on a really tight budget, then forget about buying gifts and just offer help around the house, cook a meal, share your skills, or simply offer to host them if they visit your county.

***

On your next trip, use these tips to save money on accommodation and enrich your social life at the same time.

You can use the money you save to get to know your travel destination more deeply – spend it on activities and experiences that you can’t have elsewhere.

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